RAINBOW Tourism Group (RTG) is at loggerheads with employees over retrenchment packages, with the latter claiming that exit packages are too low and will not accept them until they are reviewed, Southern Eye has established.
Gamma Mudarikiri Own Correspondent The hotel group is in the process of restructuring and began retrenching some of its employees in January this year. RTG sent letters of retrenchment dated January 16 advising some of its employees that they would be retrenched in February. However, the employees to be retrenched are protesting, saying the exit packages are too low.
“We have refused to sign for those retrenchment packages as they are too low,” one the employees said. “The company is cheating us and we will not take that.”
According to the retrenchment letter, employees were supposed to receive a severance and service pay of a month for every year served, notice pay and housing allowance of three months.
However, workers are demanding severance and service pays of at least six months, which management has refused and rather reportedly resorted to firing and victimising workers.
“We are victimised and are threatened with dismissal and that we will not get our exit packages,” one of the employees said. RTG public relations manager Eltah Nengomasha, although confirming the dispute, said the issue was now a retrenchment board matter.
“The issue is before the retrenchment board after the two parties failed to agree,” she said. RTG has been on a restructuring drive following the appointment of a new chief executive officer Tendai Madziwanyika.
The company recently announced that it had reduced costs significantly during the first five months of the year in response to the new strategy focusing on more efficient and effective operational systems. This comes after the leisure and hospitality group had been rocked by sleaze involving top managers, a number of whom left the firm after being exposed by an internal audit. The group achieved a 13% drop in cost of goods purchased through central procurement in the first five months of the year while cost of sales were now at 10% compared to prior year of 11%. Twitter feedback @mudarikirig
